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Kansas guard Darryn Peterson declares for 2026 NBA Draft

Danby: Daniel Hager04/24/26DanielHagerOn3

Kansas superstar freshman guard Darryn Peterson has officially declared for the 2026 NBA Draft, he announced on Friday. He is projected to be one of the first names off the board, which would give the program its first top three selection in the NBA Draft since Joel Embiid (No. 3 in 2014).

Peterson struggled with cramping and on-and-off injuries during his lone season at Kansas, but looked like one of the best players in the sport when he was on the court. The Canton, Ohio, native earned Second Team All-Big 12 and Big 12 All-Freshman Team honors, as he averaged 20.2 points and 4.2 rebounds.

Due to these issues, which would even sometimes take him out of games for halves at a time, Peterson earned a bit of a reputation for being unreliable on the basketball court. He previously addressed those concerns.

“I had like a full-body (cramp), super serious,” Peterson told the Kansas City Star’s Shreyas Laddha about an incident that happened in September. ”You could say it was traumatic. I would say it was a traumatic experience.

“There was some foolish stuff being said, but I could have probably did better in probably (getting) in front of it instead of people making stuff up. It’s over now, but don’t nobody say nothing about me finishing games and stuff now, which is funny to me. But I don’t really care. I am just glad I am feeling better.”

Darryn Peterson has dealt with critics of his game and basketball motor all season long

Peterson’s best game of the season came in Kansas‘ 104-00 OT victory over TCU on Jan. 6. In that win, Peterson scored 32 points (fourth most by a freshman in the Bill Self era) on 44.8% shooting from the field. The freshman totaled 12 20-plus point games, even hitting the mark in three of the Jayhawks’ four postseason games. This included a 28-point performance in Kansas‘ NCAA Tournament First Round victory over Cal Baptist.

During an appearance on Get Up in late March, ESPN’s Seth Greenberg discussed how Peterson’s performance in Kansas‘ Sweet 16 loss to St. John’s may affect his draft stock.

“He’s an incredible talent, but he’s an ‘if,’ because you just haven’t seen enough,” Greenberg said. “Is he a three-level scorer? Yes. Can he shoot the 3? Yes. Does he have a perfect body to play the game? Yes. Having said that, on the biggest stage in the NCAA tournament, playing against St. John’s, I thought he would have a Darius Acuff-type of game, all right. I thought that he was going to seek it, be aggressive, attack, make plays, take over the game when the game was on the line, and that just didn’t happen.

“The guy’s a ridiculous talent, but as I watched him yesterday on that stage, I wanted to see more. I left wanting more. So, No. 1 overall pick, I don’t think so, because I’m not sure it’s in his DNA to be that guy that you can build your whole program and organization around. I think he’s talented, but if you’re overall No. 1, you’re the guy. You got to be the alpha. I didn’t see the alpha in him yesterday.”

Despite concerns about his health and motor, which many personalities have touched on across this past season, Peterson remains a no-doubt top selection in the NBA Draft. The order will be decided in the NBA Draft Lottery, which is scheduled to take place on May 10.